The Space-Time Continuum
by flipomatic
Summary: Across the space-time continuum lie an endless amount of points. Each of these points consists of a single space and a single time. Most often these spots don't match up; the time is all wrong or the space inconceivable. But every once in a while all of the pieces fall into place. Two times when everything was out of line and one where it was a little less. Narumayo.


Author Note: My first try at Ace Attorney. I'm sorry if they're grossly out of character.

* * *

Across the space-time continuum lie an endless amount of points. Each of these points consists of a single space and a single time. Most often these spots don't match up; the time is all wrong or the space inconceivable. But every once in a while all of the pieces fall into place.

* * *

Time:

When Phoenix first met Maya Fey he couldn't help but pity her a little. There was no worse place to be than the defendants chair at your sister's murder trial. After finding the real murderer Nick was ready to turn the teenager loose, but she had other ideas.

Somehow, she got it in her head to be his assistant. He didn't need an assistant, he almost protested, but the claim died in his throat. He owed it to Mia to look after Maya, at least for a little longer, so he agreed to her terms.

Slowly, over their first few months together, his pity turned into wonder.

How could this girl, this teenager, possibly eat so many burgers in one sitting? How could she not notice people staring at her odd choice of clothing? Where on earth did she get all her energy and joy from? Why did he suddenly feel so old?

Over time, he discovered the answers to those questions. She'd been ignoring stares since she was a small child and pointedly pretended they didn't exist. Nick felt old because he actually was old, if 24 could truly be counted as old. Even she didn't have an answer to the burger question, merely laughing light-heartedly when he asked.

When Nick found her one night, sleeping on the office couch with dried tracks on her face, he learned that the joy was just a front. He tucked a blanket over her form, leaving a gentle kiss on her forehead. He didn't know where the gesture came from, but it felt right.

After a couple cases together, Nick officially hired Maya as his assistant. Even though she didn't have an ounce of legal training, she still managed to help with the trials. Anyway, he was used to having her around. They didn't lead an exactly peaceful existence, with Von Karma tasing them and crazy witnesses constantly throwing insults, but they managed to live happily.

Even another murder charge couldn't keep Maya down for long, though something Pearl said during the incident bothered him quite a bit.

"You're Mystic Maya's special somebody, aren't you?"

He stared back at Pearl, flabbergasted at the idea. Maya's special somebody? Like her boyfriend or something? Nick had never even considered thinking about Maya that way. She had always been this younger person he looked out for, a ward left in his care. To even think about holding her close, breaths mingling together as they met, was out of the question. He mentally smacked himself upside the head at that last though, barely putting together a stammering reply for Pearl. She didn't seem impressed, but he had more pressing matters at the moment. If Maya was convicted for murder then the topic would join her in prison.

But later, after the dust settled, Nick looked back at that moment. Did he feel that way about Maya? He didn't know, but there were a few clues.

The anger that pulsed through his veins when she was tased. The way his heart stopped when she wouldn't wake up. How his blood ran cold when he heard gunshots in the locked room and the desperate force he put into breaking down the door. He might not have wanted to be her special someone, but did desire to keep her safe.

Perhaps that protection needed to extend to himself. There were quite a few years between them, far too many to be considered normal for someone her age. Seven whole years between them was practically a generation.

But every once in a while he would forget, and start to tell himself a relationship would be possible.

But then she would call him old.

* * *

Space:

On her first day back in Kurain Maya sent Nick a letter snail mail style. She figured it would match the traditional-ness of her new position as Master of the Kurain Channeling technique. She managed to acquire a whole sheet of stamps and send the slip of paper on its way in no time. Once it was gone, she got to work.

The village had been without its master for 17 years and while outwardly appearing to function well, was actually breaking at the seams. Nobody had made a budget since the master vanished, though many members of the clan still saw fit to spend the family's money regardless. There was a distinct lack of burgers in the burgers in the chef's repertoire. Many of the buildings started to crumble without proper maintenance, leading to collapses and injuries. Some of the branch family members took some control into their hands during the long break, but were unable to legitimize their power. They glared at Maya as she claimed her position, and she ignored them as usual.

All of these things would have to be dealt with, and quickly. She barely had time to say goodbye to Nick before taking off for the village. She gave him one last hug at the train station, waving as his form grew smaller and smaller.

Maya was really going to miss him; he always gave her a reason to smile. She hoped he would be alright without her and Pearl around to help all the time. Sometimes she thought if she left him alone for too long, he could get lost scrubbing his toilet bowl. But he probably wouldn't do that, she told herself, after all, he was the lawyer in their duo. He certainly would be able to continue practicing law without her.

The thought comforted her as she went about her days. As long as she worked hard, she believed that Nick was also working hard. But one day she woke up to the realization that Nick could be working a little harder.

A newspaper came to her house every day, though she usually just glanced at the headlines. On that particular day, a glance at the headlines was all she needed.

"Phoenix Wright, or Phoenix Wrong?" it read, with a large image of Nick pointing below it. She couldn't believe her eyes; what had he done to get such an awful headline? It would have been better not to know, she decided later.

But in that moment, all she could do was turn the page. The article started nicely, talking about Nicks law career and all his past wins. But then it turned sour, saying he forged evidence and presented it in court. He'd been disbarred since then, and nobody had seen him since.

Maya wondered if the world tilted slightly, or if it was just her imagination. She dropped the paper and steadied herself with both hands. She turned on her cellphone, staring down at the lack of service bars. There was a landline just outside the house though, and she staggered there almost in a daze. She dialed up Nick's number, but the call went to voicemail. She couldn't bring herself to leave a message, to ask if it was true or not. She could only hang up and hope for him to call back.

Maya trudged back into her house, wondering how quickly she could get a train ticket into town. One usually left every few hours, and she could be there by early afternoon at the soonest. But she had meetings to attend, things that had to be done, and people to lead. She couldn't just skip out on a day or more on a whim.

For not the first time, Maya cursed the masters position, cursed her mother for leaving this mess, cursed her sister for dying. She sat down at her desk and penned Nick a long letter, filling it up with all her questions, concerns, and a few jokes to hopefully lighten his mood.

A few weeks passed without a response.

So she wrote him another letter.

This time, he wrote back.

* * *

Continuum:

All of the Wright Anything Agency lawyers sat at their respective desks, combing their way through old case files. Athena would glance towards the window every once in a while, probably hoping for an early escape. Apollo had noticed her behavior and kept rubbing his wrist every couple of minutes. Nick ignored them both; intent on finishing his part of the files. All three startled when his phone rang.

The steel samurai ring tone rang out across the office, raising eyebrows on the younger attorneys. It took Nick an extra moment to answer it since he hadn't heard the ringtone in years. It was only assigned to one person, Maya Fey, and she hadn't called from her cell phone since before he was disbarred. Since then he'd repassed the bar and become an attorney again, but it'd been a long eight years.

"Hello?"

"Hey Nick!"

"Maya?'

"Yeah! It's been a long time! How've you been?"

"Pretty good, how about y… now wait a minute. Why are you calling from this number all of a sudden?"

"Well, that might just be because for the first time in forever I have cell phone service."

"Did they put a cell tower up near Kurain?"

"Nope. Nice guess though."

"I don't know."

"Just open your office door."

Nick gaped at the office door as if it was about to explode. Could it be?

Apollo and Athena exchanged a glance as he passed them, speaking in some secret language he couldn't figure out. He didn't care.

The door opened without squeaking thanks to constant maintenance, and Nick nearly fainted when he saw who was on the other side.

Maya grinned up at him, beaming from ear to ear. She had grown over the time skip, but not enough to stand eye to eye with him. Her outfit remained largely unchanged, still following the tradition of Kurain. She could barely contain herself as she pulled Nick into a back breaking hug.

"It's been so long Nick! Oh my, what have you done to the office?" In just a short moment, Maya was examining every inch of the office. "I hope you've been taking good care of Charley. What happened to the steel samurai poster?"

"I put Mia's old poster back up." Nick chuckled. "The other one is probably around here somewhere."

"It better be." Maya huffed. "It's a classic."

"Umm." Apollo stood up awkwardly. "Hi, my name is Apollo Justice. I'm an attorney here."

"Oh," Maya reached out and shook his hand vigorously. "I'm Maya Fey. I used to be Nick's assistant, though now I'm the Master of the Kurain Channeling Technique." She also shook Athena's hand, absolutely thrilled with the younger attorneys. "Wow Nick, you found some cute kids to follow you around."

"It just kind of happens." Nick scratched the back of his head. "No offense, but what are you doing here Maya? Did you get your first ever day off?"

"You could say that." Maya tucked both hands behind her back, leaning forward slightly. "I didn't tell you this before, but I've been working on re-arranging the structures in Kurain. I put a council in charge, removing most of the power from the master's position."

"What?"

"As long as I tell them where I'm living, they're gonna let me live outside of Kurain. I actually came to town today to look for an apartment." A hint of red brushed her cheeks. "I came here specifically to see if you wanted to help me look."

For a few seconds, Nick just breathed.

"Alright." He smiled, gesturing for the door, "I'll look around with you."

"Thanks."

Maya's voice could be heard chattering as the pair exited, closing the door behind them.

Apollo and Athena shared one more glance.

* * *

As the points keep shifting, they can only hope that someday everything will align just right.

* * *

End Note: Thanks for reading.


End file.
